


Good Girl

by Zelderon



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, But in this story Pearlrose is not Romantic, Gen, Nonromantic Jaspidot, Pearl is a Dog AU, Pearlnet is also pretty dope, Romantic Pearlrose if my OTP, There might be some implied Pearlnet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-04-28 18:21:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5100962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zelderon/pseuds/Zelderon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I really like Rose. She's my best friend and the smartest, nicest, prettiest person in the world. Even though I can't really understand what she is saying, she has the best sounding voice I've ever heard and that's including the Girl. Rose gives the best tummy rubs. They're even better than the Girl's scritches. I love Rose and I would do anything for her."</p><p>Alternate Universe where Pearl is a dog that human Rose adopted.</p><p>New Chapter 6 Preview</p><p>“It’s very simple. We are hungry, and you are food. It’s nothing personal.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Cages

The door to my cage opens and I hear someone come in. It must be my dinner. I’m really excited even though the food is the same everyday. I don’t really like the taste but my belly is hungry so I still wag my tail in anticipation. A hand reaches down and scritches my good ear. I can feel my tail beat against the human’s leg as I wolf down the dry kibble. 

They even added a treat on top! I love treats! I never get a treat on top of my food. They’re only for special occasions when I do something really good! But, the Girl always gives me treats whenever I sit or stay still or give her my paw. She says I’m a good dog. I like the girl. I wish she visited more!

“Oh, Pearl. You’re a good girl, yes you are,” the human girl tells me. This isn’t news though; I know I’m a good girl. That’s what the Girl always says. I usually get a treat whenever she says that, so I always try to be a good girl. 

I remember before the Girl there weren’t any treats. Only Pain and “bad dog.”

Another voice says, “Sadie, it’s time. We can’t keep that dog around any longer. She’s not a puppy anymore and I doubt any one is going to adopt her with a mug like that.”

I don’t know what the man is saying, but I don’t care because the Girl is taking me for a walk! I’m so excited. I love walks even more than treats! I can’t wait to go outside.

Something is wrong though. The girl is crying. I try to lick her hand to make her feel better. I wag my tail and pant because that always seems to make her smile. It doesn’t work this time though.

For some reason she is taking me into the Big Building that’s next to all the Cages. There are a lot of other dogs here besides me. I don’t really like the other dogs except for this really big one named Garnet. She’s kind of quiet but she’s really nice. I sniff her through the cage walls whenever I walk by her cage. I guess I also like Amethyst too, even though she’s really loud and always wants to play. She also smells kind of weird, so I’m glad my cage is far away from hers. She’s smaller than me though which is cool, because I’m not as big as most dogs. 

One time, they let us all run around in the field together. There's a big fence around the field so we couldn't run away but it was still really fun. Another one of the dogs kept barking at me and trying to bite me. I ran away from it really fast because it was bigger than me. Garnet and Amethyst barked at him and scared him away.

I don’t know why we’re going into the Big Building though. Normally when I go on walks, they take me to the grassy field beyond the Cages. I really like smelling the flowers there!

When we get into the building, I see a girl with lots of hair standing with an older girl. This girl is big, she’s even taller than the Girl and the Girl is really tall. The Big Girl has huge, curly, pink hair and soft looking hands. I bet she gives really good tummy rubs!

The Big Girls tugs on the Old Girl’s sleeve and says, “Mom, what are they doing with that one?” and points at me.

“Oh sweetie, that dog has been with us for a long time. We need to make room for new dogs so we’re putting her down,” a voice behind a big desk says.

“MOM, they can’t put her down! I want to adopt that one. That’s the one I want!” she cries. She’s really loud, and my good ear twitches. My other one probably would too if there was any of it left.

“Are you sure, dear? You haven’t even seen any of the others. That one also looks kind of sick,” says the Old Girl. 

“Yes, mom. I want that one pleaseee,” the Big Girl drags out the last word. Her eyes look really shiny.

“Alright honey, if that’s the one that you want.”

The Girl stops crying and I see her smile. I like it when she smiles. She walks up to the Big Girl who towers over her and hands her my leash. The Big Girl leans down to me and asks, “What’s her name?” and rubs my head. I love the Big Girl! My tail is wagging, making enough wind to move the bottom of the Big Girl’s white dress.

“Her name is Pearl. I hope you take good care of her.” the Girl wipes her face with her hand and scritches my ear. My tail somehow manages to wag even harder at this.

The voice behind the desk says, “We’ll need to spay her and give her some shots. You can come back in a week to pick her up once she’s done recovering.”

The Big Girl looks into my eyes, “Hi Pearl, I can’t wait for you to come home with me. We’re going to have so much fun together. My name is Rose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr at 
> 
> http://zelderonmorningstar.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> for more Steven Universe, My Little Pony, and Adventure Time stuff.


	2. The Big Building

I thought I was going to die. They took me into a cold, white room with tile floors and stuck lots of pointy things into me. After they stuck the last pointy thing into me I fell asleep and when I woke up the area between my legs was really itchy but I couldn’t scratch it. They put this weird plastic thing around my neck that was really annoying because I was REALLY itchy.

The Girl tries to walk me into the Big Building again but I won’t let her. I’m not stupid; the last time I went in there was when they poked with sharp things for like an entire week. Even though it’s been a month or maybe even a year, I still remember that place is bad.

Eventually she sighs and picks me up and carried me in. I wriggle around a lot. I do NOT like to be carried, and I did NOT want to go in there.

The Big Girl is in the Big Building. She looks really happy and is smiling a lot. The Old Girl is with her, too. She’s wearing the same white dress from all those months ago

“Hi Pearl. It’s me, Rose remember?” she says “Rose, Rose, Rose,” she adds, pointing at herself. She repeated “Rose” a couple more times.

I think the Big Girl’s name is “Rose.” I like that name. It reminds me of the flowers I get to smell when I go on walks with the Girl.

The Girl grabs my head in both her hands and pulls my head against her chest. She is sniffling but I can tell that it’s different from before. 

“Well Pearl, I guess this is goodbye. You're going to have lots of fun with the Big Girl. I know you’ll be a good girl.”

My tail starts wagging. I wonder if the Girl is about to give me a treat. I nuzzle her cheek with my cold, wet nose.

The Girl hands my leash to the Big Girl. The Big Girl is walking towards the big glass doors in the Big Building with the Old Girl, but the Girl is just standing there, but I’m walking out the doors with the Big Girl. I’ve never walked through those doors to go back to my cage. I guess the Girl is going to meet us at the Cages, but now we’re walking to a car and the Girl isn’t following us. The Big Girl wants me to go into the car but the Girl is still in the Big Building. We need to wait for her!

The Big Girl picks me up and puts me in the car and shuts the door. I put my paws on the window and look outside. Maybe the Girl is going to come soon. Then everything starts moving and I don’t think the Girl is coming with us.

The Big Girl puts one of her soft hands on me, “Calm down Pearl. We’re going home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr at 
> 
> http://zelderonmorningstar.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> for more Steven Universe, My Little Pony, and Adventure Time stuff.


	3. The House

I miss the Girl and Garnet and even Amethyst. The Big Girl has a really huge house. I really like her yard. It reminds me of the Field. The flowers aren’t the same but they still smell really good. Almost as good as the Big Girl.

The Big Girl’s bed is so soft and warm. I’m allowed on the bed whenever the Old Girl isn’t around. I like sleeping in the bed with the Big Girl and snuggling my head into her hair. She has so much more hair than I do. I used to have lots of hair but the Girl cut it all off when I first arrived at the Big Building, but that’s okay because I was really dirty then and it made me clean. I like being clean and the Big Girl’s house is really clean.

The food here is also really good. It’s a lot better than the kibble the Girl used to give me. Sometimes when the Big Girl is eating with the Old Girl, she gives me some of her food. The Old Girl tells her not to but the Big Girl doesn’t care. I don’t really like the Old Girl but she is still nicer than the Before Man. 

Everyday the Old Girl and the Big Girl leave the house after they walk me in the morning. The Big Girl usually doesn’t come back until the afternoon. When I first arrived at the house, I’d spend my days exploring every nook and cranny. One of those days I found a cylindrical container that was full of all sorts of neat stuff. I even put some of the stuff in the Old Girl’s room as a present, but for some reason she yelled at me a lot when she found it.

Now though, I’m really bored.I’ve sniffed everything in the house like a hundred times and there’s no one to talk to. Even though I like the quiet, at the Cages somedog was always barking, it gets kind of lonely and boring here. At least back at the Cages I could talk to Garnet and Amethyst. Even if Amethyst was kind of gross, at least she liked to tell jokes to cheer me up. She may have sometimes been kind of annoying, but she was never boring. And Garnet always gives the best advice and always seemed to know when the Girl was coming.

BorED BOred boRED BorEd BoreD boRed boreD BoRED BORed borED bOrEd BOreD BoRED BORed borED bOrEd BOreD BoreD boRed boreD BorED BOred boRED boRed boreD BoRED BorEd BoreD boRed boreD BorED BOred boRED BorEd boRed boreD BorED BOred boRED boRed boRED BorEd BoreD bOrEd BOreD BoreD boreD BorED BOred BORed borED bOrEd boreD BoRED BorEd BoreD boRed boreD BoRED BORed 

I’m laying on the Big Girl’s bed right now looking out the window. I just woke up from my 3rd or 8th nap of the day. Sometimes I see interesting things out the window like other dogs. I haven’t met that many dogs since I’ve been here. For some reason their owners won’t let them come near me. I think it makes the Big Girl angry.

There’s this one cat named Peridot who likes to tease me through the window. She climbs up on the roof a lot to sleep in the sun. It’s unfair, she gets to roam around wherever she wants during the day. I bet she never gets bored. She always flaunts her freedom in front of me. I only get to go outside on a leash. She sometimes brings food to the window and eats it in front of me which makes me really jealous. I don’t actually really mind her that much though, at least she gives a distraction from the boredom. Plus the jokes on her because she has to sleep outside at not and not in a warm bed with the Big Girl. 

She tells me stories about the things she’s seen or done around the neighborhood. Today she told me about how she got into a fight with a bunch of dogs. That’s why she has a huge scratch on her side. She said she was able to fight them off though and even bit off one of the dog’s ears. Then she said she a giant hawk tried to attack her because it thought she was weak but she was able to kill and eat it. Sometimes I think Peridot likes to make things up, so I told her she was lying. But she went away for a little bit and brought back a feather from the hawk she ate. It was blue and a lot smaller than I expected, but I’ve never actually seen a hawk so I guess she wasn’t lying.

I hear the Big Girl finally come home and jump off the bed and race down the stairs to greet her. She puts down her bag and ruffles my ear and pats my back. She picks me up and hugs me. I don’t like getting picked up but I guess it’s okay when she does it. She carries me up to her bed and sits down on it with me. Her cellphone rings and she answers it.

“Hi, Daddy. I’m so excited to see you this weekend!” the Big Girl seems really happy and she is smiling a lot so I feel really happy and I can feel my tail start to wag.

“Sorry, kiddo. No can do. I’m really busy this weekend. I was just calling to tell you that. You understand right, Rose?” I can hear his voice even though it’s really quiet because my hearing is really good even if I can only hear out of one ear.

“Oh, but I haven’t seen you for more than 2 months. But I guess if you’re busy that’s okay. There’s always next weekend I guess…” the Big Girl’s eyes start getting really shiny, just like the Girl’s eyes before she went away and I never saw her again. I can’t even really remember what she looks like. Whenever I try to picture her in my head, all I see is the Big Girl.

“That’s the spirit. I’ll see you next weekend Rose.”

“Okay. Bye Daddy,” Rose puts down the phone and puts her face into her hands and her whole body starts shaking. I can tell something is wrong so I nuzzle her hands with my nose. She moves her hands away from her face and I can see the tears running down them. I give one of them lick before settling my head down in her lap.

Something deep and ingrained within me stirs and I know I’m supposed to comfort the Big Girl. Smells of early fires and hairy humans spark at the edges of the mind, but I ignore them. The Big Girl, I mean Rose, is crying and it’s my duty to make her smile again, because Rose needs me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr at 
> 
> http://zelderonmorningstar.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> for more Steven Universe, My Little Pony, and Adventure Time stuff.


	4. The Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl goes to the park for the first time and meets one of Rose's good friends.

Every so often Rose doesn’t leave after walking me in the morning, and I get to spend all day with her. She normally takes me on extra long walks and she spends hours petting me.

My coat has gotten a lot longer since I’ve been with Rose. I think she puts something special in my food or maybe it’s just something special about her. Yesterday, she even bought a hair brush for me. She washed and brushed me for the first time since I left that the Cages. Right before I left the Girl gave me a bath so I was really clean when I went home with Rose, but now I’m even cleaner. I hate getting baths but I liked it when Rose washed me.

I am laying in the living room. It’s that time of day when the sun perfectly hits the patch of rug that’s extra comfy. Rose is taking a shower and the door to the bathroom is closed which is annoying because it means I don’t get to spend time with her. The Old Girl is cooking something that smells really good. I hope Rose gives me some.

Rose finishes her shower and walks into the living rooms. She’s wearing shorts and a t-shirt today which is weird because she normally wears dresses. She even tied her hair up into a ponytail. Why do they call them ponytails and not dog tails? We’re way better than midget horses!

After she finishes her breakfast (she gave me a piece of BACON!!!) she and the Old Girl go to the garage. She gets my leash and tells me to come. She hooks my leash onto my collar and leads me over to the car. I start wagging my tail rapidly. The last time I was in a car with Rose I got to see tons of cool stuff!

“We’re going to the park today. You’re going to love it, Pearl. You’ll get to meet my friend Jasper and her cat Peridot,” says Rose once we begin moving.

At the park, the Old Girl drops us off and drives away. Even though it’s not nice, I’m kind of glad she isn’t coming with us. I don’t like the Old Girl, but that’s a secret.

Rose walks me over to some picnic tables next to a big field. There’s lots of big and small people walking around us. There are even other dogs! There’s a massive girl sitting by the benches. She looks about the same size as Rose, but I can already see from a distance the outline of powerful muscle that she’s showing off through her sleeveless tank-top. She and Rose are about the same size, but she is every bit as hard as Rose is soft.

As we walk closer, I can see her more clearly. Dark tattoos entwine and thread across her arms. They remind me of thorny vines growing on her arms. They seem to further accentuate her already impressive muscles.

She’s glaring and sneering at every person who walks by, as if simultaneously sizing them up and reaching the conclusion they’re weaker than her. Her legs and shoulders spread apart, with one arm propped on the bench. In any other person her posture would seem relaxed, as if he or she were just lounging at the park, but she looks like she’s about to fight someone. My flailing tail lowers a bit and I slow down enough so that I’m walking right next to Rose instead of surging against the leash in front of her.

I see something move in her lap, and realize that Peridot is perched there looking as smug as ever. Jasper is lazily stroking her fur. Rough hands that look large enough to circle around my entire waist and strong enough to crush boulders, gently massage and groom Peridot’s coat, eliciting a low purring noise. My tail is up and wagging again; I’ve never seen Peridot without a windowpane in between us! Maybe we’ll even get to run around together and fight a giant hawk! I’ve never eaten a hawk, I wonder what they taste like? Peridot said they taste just like chicken so they must be delicious!

“Hi, Jasper!” Rose waves enthusiastically at her friend as we draw up to the pair.

“S’up Rose,” Jasper cooly replies, barely raising the hand that’s not occupied with petting Peridot in greeting. “You ready to get destroyed?” tilting her head to point at the field with two netted goal posts in front of us.

“Pfff, shut up,” Rose says as she bends down to take unclip my leash. I don’t immediately run off though, even though I really want to explore the park, because Rose is still standing by the bench. She stretches her arms and legs. Jasper rises up from the bench like a primordial behemoth awaking from its millennia-long slumber. Peridot gracefully hops off her lap and trots over to me.

I lean down to sniff her, and she tries to swipe me with her claws. Luckily, I’m fast enough to dodge it, but I think I prefer Behind-The-Window-Peridot to In-Real-Life-Peridot.

“Jasper, don’t let Peridot hurt Pearl,” Rose scolds.

“Pshh, they’re just playing around. Lighten up, Rose. Are you ready to play or what?” Jasper reaches down and picks up a yellow and orange soccer ball and starts walking towards one of the goals before Rose responds.

Rose sighs and rolls her eyes before telling me, “Pearl, just stay near the soccer field and don’t wander off okay? Be a good girl. Staaayyyy,” drawing out the last word before ruffling my ear and jogging to catch up to Jasper.

I sit down in the grass to watch their game. Even though Jasper looks stronger than Rose, she makes it up with skill. Jasper is all raw power, endurance and speed, but Rose’s feet seem to dance around her as she strategically flows and kicks the ball around Jasper. I’ve seen Rose practicing her technique in our backyard for hours. 

Peridot starts to walk away from the field and benches. Before she gets too far away, she looks over her shoulder at me with a disdainful expression and says, “Well, are you coming,” eyeing me like a spec of dirt on her paw. Even though I’m taller than her, it still looks like she is looking down her nose at me.

“But Rose told me to stay here,” I explain to her since she must not have heard.

“Whatever, dog. I’m going to go have some fun,” turns and keeps walking.

“Wait,” I say, making her look back at me, “won’t Jasper get worried if you just wander off?”

“They play soccer together all the time and Jasper always brings me along. I know how long their matches always are. We’ll be back before they even realize we’re gone. Trust me, I’m way smarter than you,” she says as if she were explaining something to a puppy, “Anyways, I usually bring a gift back for Jasper like a bird or lizard, so she won’t get mad even if she does notice I’m gone.”

“Stop being such a ‘good girl,’" Peridot pauses for a moment as if in thought, and then smirks, "besides, don’t you want to give Rose a gift to make her feel better when Jasper beats her?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr at 
> 
> http://zelderonmorningstar.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> for more Steven Universe, My Little Pony, and Adventure Time stuff.


	5. The Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Pearl go on an adventure

Peridot leads me to a grove of trees at the edge of the park. I kept glancing back at the soccer field to make sure Rose didn’t notice we were gone.

“There’s usually some cool stuff in here. Try not to scare everything away with your clodding cacophony,” Peridot looks at me with a severe gaze.

Heh, “severe.” That’s a word I learned from Peridot. She always uses tons of words I don’t know. It used to annoy me but I guess I am learning a lot from her. She says that Jasper reads to her a lot from the books she hides underneath her bed whenever Rose and her other friends visit. Apparently right now they’re reading some book about some angry grapes.

The forest is really neat. There’s alternating shadows and beams of light everywhere. And the smells! I’ve never smelled so many different things. There’s constant rustling in the dappled (another Periword) leaves and I want to run in 100 directions at once. Peridot is content to walk in silence but I feel a bit uncomfortable. I like Peridot but she can sometimes be a little unnerving. Not creepy per se, but I wouldn’t want to accidentally see her through a dark window at night. To fill the silence I ask her a question

“Hey Peridot, do you know how Jasper and Rose became friends. They seem so different.”

“Psh, how should I know, dog? I don’t understand why Jasper hangs out with a pansy like Rose. Did you know she once cried for almost half an hour straight because she stepped on a lizard’s tail and it came off? I don’t know why Jasper wasted so much time trying to comfort her.”

“Jasper did that?” I ask, a bit surprised.

I think Peridot was annoyed by my tone because she bristled and stiffly said, “Why are you so surprised? Just because she’s not a sissy like Rose doesn’t mean she isn’t a good person. Jasper is loyal and would never abandon her friends.” 

Peridot sighs, “If you must know, Jasper and Rose became friends around the same time Jasper found me,” she twitched her tail nervously, “When I was a kitten, some bad people killed my mom and my siblings. They would’ve killed me too if Jasper hadn’t saved me. She came out of nowhere and started yelling and attacking them, right as one of the people started cutting me with a knife,” Peridot walks up a mostly fallen tree that’s growing parallel to us. I can see long, thin patches of hair on her stomach that aren’t quite exactly the same as the rest of her coat.

“Jasper wasn’t as big back then as she is now. If she had been, I’m sure she could’ve handled the three teenagers by herself without breaking a sweat. As it was, I remember she got in a few punches and kicks before two of them grabbed her and held her down to the ground.The other one started punching her head, her stomach, her arms...everywhere. I started passing out at that point, but I remember Rose suddenly appeared and started hitting the boys with this big metal pipe. I blacked out as they started running away.”

“When I woke up, Jasper was holding me in her lap. She had a cast around her ribs and one of her arms. You should’ve seen the huge bandage they put over her nose. If you think it looks weird now, you should’ve seen it back then. Rose was worried it wouldn’t heal correctly but Jasper didn’t care,” Peridot puffs her chest out proudly, “She told Rose that it added character to her face and warned people not to mess with her. I’m glad Jasper adopted me. I can’t imagine having a namby pamby owner like Rose.” Peridot started walking far ahead of me.

I try to think back onto the time before Rose. I still remember Garnet and Amethyst. I wonder if they were still back at the Cages. I hope someone adopted them. Garnet is really kind and she always looked out for the smaller dogs. If anyone of the big dogs tried to bully them, Garnet would put a stop to it. Garnet was a lot quieter than most of the other dogs and generally liked to keep to herself. I hope that didn’t fool any prospective families into thinking she was cold and uncaring. She was one of the warmest and most kindhearted dogs Pearl knew. She would make a great family pet.

Even Amethyst had some redeeming features. She may have been loud and obnoxious, but she was loyal and honest. She would make a good pet for anyone who managed to meet her high energy levels and even larger appetite. I felt sorry for whoever had to feed her.

Peridot leads us deeper and deeper into the forest. I can’t even smell or hear the park anymore. I start to get a little worried. 

“Peridot are you sure you know where we’re going?”

“Of course I do you stupid dog,” Peridot says with a bit of frustration, “I’ve been here millions of times. How could I ever get lost?”

“Well I feel like we’ve been walking for a pretty long time. Rose and Japser must be getting worried.”

“Ugghh,” Peridot lets out a long sigh, “Fine I’ll take us back since you’re so worried.”

Peridot is one of the smartest people I know so I didn’t say anything as we walk back until I notice the sun is setting. The shadows are getting long, and the noises of the forest were changing.

“Peridot are you sure we’re not lost?”

“Of course I am you clod. Look the trees are thinning ahead of us. We’re almost there.”

As we exit the forest, a car whooshes by us and we are greeted by a busy road filled with cars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my main tumblr at http://zelderonmorningstar.tumblr.com/ for more Steven Universe, My Little Pony, and Adventure Time stuff.


	6. The Alpha

“Peridot, I don’t think this is the park…”

“Of course it’s not the park you imbecile. We just need to go back into the woods and retrace our steps. We must be close. Your loud slobbering probably distracted me at some point so we ended up here.”

“Hey, Peridot don’t blame everything on me. I’m always nice to you. You don’t have to always be so rude.”

Peridot lets out an annoyed cry of frustration and rushes back into the woods. I try to follow her as best as I can but it’s really dark now, and Peridot’s tabby coat helps her blend into the forest almost flawlessly.

I can’t see Peridot anymore and I have no idea where I am. I call out her name as I run aimlessly through the trees.

Suddenly my way is blocked by large, growling dark shadow. Two more emerge from the trees in front of me, and I can hear a branch snap like a bone as another two come up from behind.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? A lost little house dog far from home,” the first creature says. The other around me laugh cruelly and slowly move closer.

“What? Who are you?” I squint hard to see them. They don’t smell like anything I’ve ever encountered before. “What are you?”

“Heh heh, the spoiled little house pet can’t even recognize her own kind,” one of the dogs behind me says in a grating voice like nails on chalkboard. “I bet she’s never even slept outside before. You must have one of those swanky dog beds they sell in stores for pampered house dogs like you.”

“I’ve slept outside plenty of times before I was adopted,” I say with as much confidence as I can muster. I think my voice may have quivered because they all start laughing.

“So, puppy, have you ever been hungry before?” another one of the dogs says as they all move closer.

“What do you want?” I ask a bit more confidently than before.

“Well I suppose you’re about to find out little pu-” the dog is cut off by Jasper’s harsh voice calling for Peridot.

One of the dogs sniffs the air. “Seems like today’s our lucky day boys. Those two humans will make a nice addition to this little mutt. Our pups will eat good tonight.”

“What do you mean?” I ask with growing horror. 

“Alpha is saying we have lots of hungry bellies to feed,” one of the dogs behind me answers. “It’s very simple. We are hungry, and you are food. It’s nothing _personal_.”

One of the dogs leaps onto my back and bites my shoulder, barely missing my neck. I scream loudly and try to twist around to dislodge it. Peridot chooses that moment to jump out of a tree and latch herself onto another dog preparing to strike me. The dog yips as Peridot claws at its eyes.

“Peridot!” I yell as I thrash around to prevent the dog on my back from grabbing my neck.

“Yeah, yeah. I guess your stupidity is rubbing off on me because I decided to go on this suicide mission instead of running immediately back to Jasper. I guess we’re both gonna die now.”

I had something really clever to say, but Rose takes that moment to jump out of the bushes and smash the dog on my back with a long tree branch. She uses so much force that it even knocks me to the ground. It sends the dog on top of me flying off to the side. Jasper emerges soon after her and gives the dog Peridot is fighting a kick that very audibly breaks its ribs.

The dogs seem hesitant to attack now. But I can hear several more dogs barking and running our way. One of the dogs says, “Alpha are you sure this is worth it? Those humans are not going down without a fight.”

“And what do you propose, milksop? The forest is shrinking and prey are disappearing. Would you rather go back empty pawed and tell your pups that their father is too much of a coward to give them food?”

The Alpha dog eyes up Rose, who is facing off with one of the newly arrived dogs. I can see him crouching, getting ready to strike. My shoulder is in pain and I can feel it leaking out blood, but I can still stand and breathe, so I can still fight. 

As the Alpha lunges, I crush all the pain and fear in my body into a single pinprick and jump in front of Rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my main tumblr at http://zelderonmorningstar.tumblr.com/ for more Steven Universe, My Little Pony, and Adventure Time stuff.


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